'Man accused of sex with child' and more Chattanooga region news

'Man accused of sex with child' and more Chattanooga region news

March 21st, 2013by Staff Reports and Wire Service in Local Regional News

Man accused of sex with child

FORT PAYNE, Ala. - The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office has arrested Kristopher Lyle Greenwood, 18, of Geraldine, Ala., on charges of sexual abuse of a child under 12 years old.

Greenwood was taken to the DeKalb County Detention Center where he awaits bond, according to a news release.

"I'm glad we could get this person so quickly," Sheriff Jimmy Harris said. "I hope this family can move on and get any help for this child available."

Harris said the swift progression of the case "is evidence that teamwork is effective."

Funerals limited to six vehicles

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The Clarksville Police Department is limiting the number of vehicles in funeral processions to six. That includes the hearse.

According to The Leaf-Chronicle, a change in department policy this week specifies that any procession led by a city police officer will have a clearly marked final vehicle. Mourners driving behind it must obey traffic signals and are not considered part of the procession.

In a statement announcing the policy change, police said one patrol unit will be assigned per funeral and the limit on the number of vehicles is to ensure public safety.

Police Chief Al Ansley said off-duty officers can be hired as escorts for longer processions and there are also private companies that provide escort services for funerals.

More hotline calls answered

NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Department of Children's Services says more calls to its abuse hotline are being answered and the wait time for callers has decreased dramatically.

The Tennessean reported new data from the department showed it usually took less than 40 seconds for a call to be answered. That's a marked improvement from the average of more than three minutes in 2012. In the call center's worst-performing months, calls sometimes weren't answered for more than five minutes.

"We would like to continue to drive that down," said Larry Martin, a special adviser assigned to DCS by Gov. Bill Haslam. "The key metrics certainly indicate improvement, significant improvement. I think we can continue that."

Martin said the goal is to answer 90 percent of calls within 10 seconds -- a standard used by emergency dispatchers.

The call center gets about 165,000 calls per year, with callers reporting cases of suspected abuse or neglect of children statewide.

Nearly two-thirds of the calls result in a caseworker responding. The other calls are about cases already under investigation or about situations in which the caller did not have sufficient information to warrant checking, officials said.